When I Read

Everyone says reading is important. Researchers, teachers, parents, entrepreneurs, artists, friends, people who don’t even read…they all think reading is important. Society gets it. We should all be reading.

Personally, I’ve developed a daily reading routine. It’s one of the few good habits I’ve successfully maintained during my 20s. Here it is:

In the morning #

I read spiritual or “higher-power” books. Historically it’s been the Bible – but recently it’s been Steven Pressfield’s “War of Art”. I like to start my day being reminded that there’s more at work in the cosmos than just my tiny plot of land. It’s freeing to remember how small and truly out of control parts of my life are.

Throughout the day #

I read practical articles about my work. Since my full-time job is graphic design, I typically read articles on the design industry, refreshers on design elements, or interview pieces like the ones over at The Great Discontent. These kind of reading breaks throughout my work day help me feel connected the design industry because I can participate in comments, and share with my designer friends. When I feel connected to my industry, I feel like I’m part of a movement – something bigger than what goes on in my tiny office all day.

Right before bed #

I read fictional stories. My current book is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. There’s a reason parents read their children bedtime stories. They wind you down like nothing else! After I’ve spent all day looking at bright screens, there’s something relaxing about letting my imagination create a world that accompanies a story. I stop thinking about emails I forgot to send, that bill I have to pay, the project I’m stuck on. I get to live in a fantasy world for just a moment. There’s nothing that can retain sanity like visiting fantasy.

Now what would a post about reading be without quotes from smart people?

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

– Charles William Eliot

“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

― C.S. Lewis